The purpose of this blog is to provide an open forum for discussion of the aims of the society; news from the wider Church and details of Masses and events of interest in the diocese. The Latin Mass Society in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough expresses its full filial devotion and loyalty to Holy Mother Church, Pope Francis and Bishop Drainey.

27 October 2015

The inaugural Mass of the FSSP at St Mary's Priory in Warrington will be at noon on Saturday 21st November. It will be a polyphonic Solemn Mass in the presence of the Archbishop of Liverpool and the Abbot of Ampleforth. Refreshments will be provided after Mass.

A party will be travelling from the Middlesbrough Diocese. Anyone wishing to join the party should leave a comment below.

26 October 2015

Monday 2nd November is the Feast of All Souls, and there will be a Solemn Requiem Mass for the faithful departed at St Wilfrid's Church in York at 6pm. The Mass setting will be the ever popular Faure's Requiem, sung by the choral scholars of St Wilfrid's augmented by singers from St Helen's Church, and accompanied by organ and strings.

17 October 2015

There is every prospect that, in the new year, there will be a new centre for Latin Masses in the Middlesbrough Diocese. Fr Mark Drew, who has recently taken charge of the churches at Hornsea and Marton, expects to start celebrating occasional Latin Masses at the church of the Most Holy Sacrament at Marton. For those who do not know the area, Marton is a hamlet close to Burton Constable Hall, and has a small church built by the Constable family in 1789. It is about 7 miles to the North East of Hull.

The feast of St Charles Borromeo is celebrated on 4th November in both the new and old calendars. It so happens that this year the 4th November is a Wednesday, and so coincides with our regular first Wednesday Latin Mass in St Charles' Church in Hull. So we will be having the Mass of St Charles Borromeo in the church of St Charles Borromeo on the feast of St Charles Borromeo.

I am looking into whether we can do anything special to mark the occasion. In the meantime, I would like to encourage people to make a special effort to attend this Mass. The details are:

08 October 2015

There are news reports that there has been a serious fire at the Shrine Church of Christ the King belonging to the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest in Chicago. It seems that the fire, which started during the night, has destroyed the roof of the church and many of the internal fittings, although the walls are still standing.

It must have been a massive blaze, as 150 firemen and 50 appliances were employed to put it out. It is thought that the cause of the fire is related to the restoration works that were going on the previous day, when volunteers were applying varnish in the choir loft.

This is the second serious fire at this church, which is the headquarters of the Institute in America. An earlier fire occurred whilst the church was out of use, before the Institute took it over.

03 October 2015

There is good news from the Hallam Diocese. Following a successful trial, it has been announced that there is to be a regular monthly Latin Mass in Doncaster. It will be at the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Armthorpe Road at 3pm on the third Sunday of each month. It will be offered by a young priest, Fr Kieran Fletcher.

The church, which is near to Doncaster Royal Infirmary, is easy to find, and is conveniently accessible from Junction 3 of the M18. The postcode is DN2 5JN.

I was interested to read that the Canons Regular of the New Jeruselem have been incardinated in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charlston by Bishop Michael Bransfield. I first came across this order, which follows the Augustinian rule, and is led by Fr Daniel Openheimer, in 2006 when I attended a colloquium in Oxford organised by CIEL. The community consists of Fr Daniel, who formerly belonged to the FSSP and two brothers.

The good news is that both Brother John and Brother Alban are to be ordained priests on 17th October by Bishop Athanasius Schneider, who is also an Augustinian. These ordinations have been long delayed because they have had to await the incardination of the Order. Let us hope that the Canons Regular of the New Jeruselem will attract more members, now that they are properly established.

01 October 2015

Starting on 4th October, the Sunday Latin Masses at St Wilfrid's Church in York will include polyphonic music. This has been made possible by engaging choral scholars who will sing at both the noon Mass and at Vespers and Benediction.

Next Sunday, the Mass the Mass setting will be Viadana's Missa L'hora Passa with the motet, Simile est Regnum Caelorum by Morales. At Benediction, following Vespers at 6pm, there will be music by Elgar and Vierne.